The Study of Women's Health Across the Nation (SWAN), is a multi-site longitudinal, epidemiologic study designed to examine the health of women during their middle years. The study examines the physical, biological, psychological, and social changes during this transitional period. The goal of SWAN's research is to help scientists, health care providers, and women learn how mid-life experiences affect health and quality of life during aging. The data include questions about doctor visi... (more info)

The Study of Women's Health Across the Nation (SWAN), is a multi-site longitudinal, epidemiologic study designed to examine the health of women during their middle years. The study examines the physical, biological, psychological, and social changes during this transitional period. The goal of SWAN's research is to help scientists, health care providers, and women learn how mid-life experiences affect health and quality of life during aging. The data include questions about doctor visits, medical conditions, medications, treatments, medical procedures, relationships, smoking, and menopause related information such as age at pre-, peri- and post-menopause, self-attitudes, feelings, and common physical problems associated with menopause. Also included in the data are background characteristics (age, race, occupation, education, marital status, and family size). The study is co-sponsored by the National Institute on Aging (NIA), the National Institute of Nursing Research (NINR), the National Institutes of Health (NIH), and the NIH Office of Research on Women's Health. The research centers are located in the following communities: Ypsilanti and Inkster, MI (University of Michigan); Boston, MA (Massachusetts General Hospital); Chicago, IL (Rush Persbyterian-St. Luke's Medical Center); Alameda and Contra Costa County, CA (University of California-Davis, and Kaiser Permanente); Los Angeles, CA (University of California-Los Angeles); Hackensack, NJ (Hackensack University Medical Center); and Pittsburgh, PA (University of Pittsburgh). SWAN participants represent five racial/ethnic groups and a variety of backgrounds and cultures.

Access Notes

These data are freely available.

This study is maintained and distributed by the National Archive of Computerized Data on Aging (NACDA), the aging program within ICPSR. NACDA
is sponsored by the National Institute on Aging (NIA) at the National Institutes of Heath (NIH).

Universe:
Women age 40 through 55, living in designated geographic areas, with the ability to speak English or other designated languages (Japanese, Cantonese, or Spanish), who had the cognitive ability to provide verbal informed consent, and had membership in a specific site's targeted ethnic group were included within the first SWAN data collection. 202,985 sampling units were screened for participation. 34,985 were identified as eligible. 16,142 completed the survey.

Methodology

Sample:
Site-specific sampling frames were used and encompassed a range of types, including lists of households, telephone numbers, and individual names of women.

Time Method:
Longitudinal: Panel

Mode of Data Collection:
face-to-face interview,
telephone interview

Response Rates:
46.6 percent

Extent of Processing: ICPSR data undergo a confidentiality review and are altered when necessary to limit the risk of
disclosure. ICPSR also routinely creates ready-to-go data files along with setups in the major
statistical software formats as well as standard codebooks to accompany the data. In addition to
these procedures, ICPSR performed the following processing steps for this data collection:

Created variable labels and/or value labels.

Checked for undocumented or out-of-range codes.

Version(s)

Original ICPSR Release:2006-03-06

Version History:

2014-01-29 This data collection is now publicly available.

2011-01-06 The data now include New Jersey cohort cases that have been introduced into the data collection. These cases were initially withheld from the original data release.

2010-06-03 The data are restricted, but the documentation files are available for download.